What in the world have I been up to?

VBS stuff

Catching up with old friends

Catepillar Power Parade--the kids had a blast!

Froze 16 quart of sweet corn this afternoon. Sara was a power shucker!

I got a new shower curtain. This is a really big deal because it isn't white! You have to understand that between seminary and ministry jobs, decorations in my house get consistently pushed to the bottom of the budget--especially bathroom decorations. When we moved in here I got cool red towels for our bathroom (since we hadn't bought towels in 12 years) and picked out a shower curtain that I really liked to go with them. So then I proceeded to wait for the curtain to go on sale. And wait, and wait, and wait, and wait and wait....you get the idea. So today while we were shopping and I was checking to see if it was on sale--Joe grabbed and said that he was getting it for me. Yeah! I took a picture but I don't think it did it justice so you will just have to come to my house and see it.

I chopped my hair off.

I've started wearing eyeliner. (It's not on in the picture). I figured now that I'm 35, I'm probably mature enough to wear eyeliner.

Did I mention I was getting ready for VBS? It's next week.

We got a bike trailer for our bike so the first thing on the agenda with the kids in the morning is a bike ride.

Merry Christmas!!!

in July that is. Actually it is belated Merry Christmas in July. I have a friend who has an annual Christmas in July party every year and I made a quick trip to Iowa to attend. This one was special because we used it as an opportunity to bestow some Christmas presents onto a dear friend who is currently displaced due to the floods. We still had our white elephant exchange in which I ended up with a turtle footstool--yep-a turtle footstool. I also was chosen through a drawing to get to have the traveling white elephant gift (it returns every year)--"The Multiply Pot" but that is for another post.

The next night we had a sleepover at a friend's house. The kids had a blast. We have 9 kids with one on the way (not me!) between our two families. John & Jackson (currently the only boy in the other family) especially had a great time together--they are only 3 months apart in age. We didn't see much of them except at mealtime.The girls enjoyed being, well, girls together.

You know you've run too many errands when....

by the time you reach Walmart (your last stop) your debit card stops working because the bank has flagged it for possible fraud!

Orange Juice Shake

We have a new favorite drink at our house. I occasionally check out Jill Savage's blog and this week she happens to be having a summer recipe contest. This was the recipe of hers that she posted yesterday.

Orange Juice Shake
6oz Frozen OJ Concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
10 ice cubes
Blend all ingredients in a blender. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

I know I've seen recipes similar to this in the past but have never taken the time to try them. This one was a huge hit with the kids. After naps I think I may try it with ice cream instead of milk to make it a little thicker and more "shake" like. Perfect for a hot, steamy day!

The rumbles of the morning

I woke up this morning to the tornado siren going off. The actual center of the storm wasn't anywhere near us (it was at the south of the county and we are at the north of the county) but we had some pretty big storms that came through. We spent most of the morning picking up sticks and limbs from it. Anyway, Joe needed to run an errand and it wasn't raining much anymore--just some distant rumblings--so the kids and I went out on the front porch to wave goodbye. After the first couple rumbles, Nathan says "fireworks, there are fireworks!!!" He was very excited and very determined that it was fireworks. He was also somewhat disappointed when he realized mom was actually right and there were no fireworks. A little later we were outside and heard some more rumbles. John with a big grin on his face and his stomach sticking out says: "Wow mom, did you hear my stomach?! It really rumbled!"

bug hunting

Bug hunting has become my children's favorite pasttime. The same morning that I found the dead baby alligator??? in the backyard, we discovered a green grasshopper hanging out with my strawberry plants. It got away from Nathan's super finger grip and they are trying to track it down. (Yes, I know the picture is dark--I'm still working on getting the right settings...)

the dead baby alligator????

So I was outside last week checking out my vegetable garden. It was early morning, but my definition of "early" has changed this summer--I think it was around 8ish. And, important to note, I hadn't had my coffee yet. I watered my veggies, which are looking great, and then I glanced over by the fence and realized there was a dead baby alligator lying in my backyard. Yep, a dead baby alligator. Yes, I know it didn't make sense to me either, but it certainly looks that way, don't you think? What do you think it is???

the proud moment

"Hey Mommy, look at this" said my youngest daughter last week at around 3:30 in the afternoon. I was in my bedroom trying to wake up from my nap. I turned over and much to my amazement she was standing there holding her 2nd top tooth to fall out in the last month. This one, she proudly proclaimed to me, she had pulled out all by herself. I think the last one was such a traumatic experience that she was determined to pull this one out herself. She could not stop smiling for the next 24 waking hours--and I am not exaggerating.

My hydrangea bush

One of the things I had to say good-bye to last summer were my three very huge and very beautiful hydrangea bushes that were in front of my house. Now after the first year that we lived there Joe was convinced that I had completely killed the bushes when I trimmed, okay slaughtered, them back to their bases. In my defense, they were very overgrown. Anyway, they came back stronger than ever the next spring, so every year they got the heavy duty "trim" treatment. So last fall at our new house I took to trimming our new hydrangea bush and had beautiful results. This is what it looked like when we returned from vacation. Fortunately, I got the picture taken before the rain weighed down the blooms. I am so excited that God blessed me with providing a house with one of my favorite plants.

My new camera

So I got a new camera while we were on vacation but I didn't really figure out how to use it until we got home. I still haven't figured it all out, but I have figured out the "sport setting". This is a shot that shows how awesome I think it is. Check out the water....